The present invention is directed to a device for releasably coupling fiber optical waveguides in an end-to-end alignment so that in the coupled condition the optical waveguides rest in a longitudinally extending groove in a seating surface of a first coupling part with the end faces of the waveguides in alignment with each other.
A coupling device which has a pair of waveguides resting in a groove with the end faces being aligned is disclosed in German No. OS 28 03 570. According to the disclosure of this German reference, a V-groove is formed in a base body of a plug device for optical waveguides and this groove receives the fiber optical waveguides which project into the coupling area. In this coupling area, two mutually abutting ends of the fiber optical waveguides are pressed into the bottom of the groove by means of resilient pressure elements so that a separate centering operation is not necessary. Such an arrangement, however, makes it necessary that the ends of the fiber optical waveguides must project from the plug parts in which they are mounted so that they can be grasped by the pressure element. This, however, produces a danger that the projecting unprotected sensitive ends of the fiber optical waveguides may be damaged during the plugging-in operation. One must count on damage and wear to the fibers and also damage and wear to the grooves or the pressure elements particularly when a high number of plugging operations are necessary.